Kingdoms of Men
by Superstyle
Summary: The European countries begin plans to protect themselves by turning Europe into a superpower, but some of the them have deeper intentions  with this. But will this really keep them safe when the threat of a new Cold War, or worse, comes to light?
1. Introduction: Light in the Darkness

**Kingdoms of Men**

"_Raphèl maì amècche zabì almi."_

Introduction: Light in the Darkness

Watching the sun begin to set in the west, Rom, who would later be called Rome, took from his pouch a scroll that he discovered in the ruins of an old library, somewhere in Asia Minor. Sitting himself down on a nearby rock, Rom eagerly took to reading it, as he had been meaning to read it for some time, but was to busy to read it until now.

* * *

The scroll read as follows:

- _As life on the earth flourished, the descendents of the first ones all settled into a fertile plain. It was there that their will's gave birth to the first Glory of the earth._

_The first Glory of the earth watch over the humans, who he called dust spirits. He preserved the order and law that the men established, in fact, he would often influence their hearts and minds to establish certain orders and laws and decisions. He would them in whatever way he felt best, but they did not always do exactly what he moved them towards, because he could only influence them, not control them._

_In time, he found that it was not only him that held powers of influence. The people themselves influenced him, but in different ways. He found that while he did not always influence them, at least not directly, the people were always influencing him, and usually in direct ways. He was the son of their will, after all. Thus, he discovered, he was like them, their offspring. He carried their hopes, dreams, beliefs, convictions. He carried their sense of right and wrong. Sometimes he could make them change those things, but not always, as he could usually only preserve the people as they are, and as they decide to be. But sometimes the people would have to preserve him, but they only knew of him faintly._

_There were other Glories who arose as well, both in the plain and in other places of the nearby world, but the first Glory of the earth either killed them or subjugated them, holding sway over their own hearts as well. It turned out that they were his brothers and sisters, because they were all born from the will of the same people who's will gave birth to him. And so, he held power over them, and from the principal city state, Unug, he presided over the people and the other Glories. Because of this, the other Glories called him Unug. Later, him and the city would be called Uruk. But the people named the plain they settled in Sumer, and so the first Glory of the earth also called himself Sumer. It was then that he realized that he only called himself Sumer because that is what the people called him; the people influenced him._

_It was then that he realized what he not only preserved the people and their hopes, dreams, beliefs, and convictions. He not only preserved their way of life, their orders and their law. He was those things. Just then, an exalted spirit from the higher planes appeared to him, and taught him and the other Glories about what they were, and what they were to do. Then it left them, they all went on to their separate ways. But Uruk saw the hopelessness that the other Glories brought upon the people, either intentionally or because they did not know who to live for the people. Because of those Glories, the people became backward, lost, and hopeless. They barely knew how to construct the tiniest, dirtiest of huts._

_So Uruk worked hard to influence the people, and tapped into all of his power in order to sway them into the rightful direction. Under the sway of Uruk, also called Sumer, the people invented the ways of agriculture, writing, and irrigation. They also invented the arch._

_And so, looking upon all that the people had accomplished, Sumer said to himself: "I have brought these people to a better place. The world is dark, and the people can be cruel and evil to each other. Other Glories may be cruel and evil to each other, but I shall not any longer. I shall be a just Glory... a just nation! I will be the light in the darkness of the world, and lead the people to honor and righteousness. I will light the way to greatness for these people, and all the people. I am the light in the darkness."_

_The people eventually founded many city states, including Ur, Kish, Nippur, Ngirsu, and Babylon, each with it's own Glory, or nation, that rose from the wills that built the cities themselves. And Sumer considered himself to be their elder brother. Soon, larger nations were born from collectives of city states, one of the first being Chaldea._

_Babylon was Sumer's favorite brother. When Sumer died, he named Babylon as his heir. So Babylon took possession of all of the land and city states that Sumer had under his control at that time._

_Now, the people during all of this time had three kings ruling over them, each over a division of the people, which the people had divided themselves into based on who their ancestors were; that is, the first ones. For many generations, the city Babylon was their principal city, and they invented many ideas, concepts, laws, and various ways of life and cultures. Eventually they made a horrible mistake, and were driven out by a higher Power._

_But some stayed in Babylon and the surrounding land, including the Chaldeans, whose nation was Chaldea. After several generations, Chaldea would take control of Babylon and other nations, including Ur. That is why it is said, "Ur of the Chaldeans."_

_And so each of the three divisions of the people went their separate ways, into the unknown parts of the earth. They all settled into lands according to their clans and tribes, and would found new cities and cultures and ways of life. They would claim new lands and build new cities, each land or city with it's own Glory, or nation._ -

* * *

Rom kept the scroll up close to his face, even though he had finished reading it. He had been searching for anything on the first nations: scrolls, tablets, anything. Now he finally had it.

Rom himself was already a very old nation himself, maybe even ancient. But he had only heard vague stories about the first nations, stories passed down over history. The first nations were the ones who paved the way for all nations after them, including himself. And he wanted to be as great as they were, maybe even greater.

The part of the scroll that fascinated him the most, however, was when Sumer said to himself, "I will be the light in the darkness of the world, and lead the people to honor and righteousness. I will light the way to greatness for these people, and all the people. I am the light in the darkness."

The world in Rom's time was also dark, and the various nations and peoples were often times cruel and even evil, just as in Sumer's time. But Sumer rose above the darkness of the world. He became a light, a great power that changed the world for the better. And now that is what Rom wanted to be, more than anything else. As the sun set behind the mountains, Rom pledged to himself, "I will be the light in the darkness! And I shall never die, I shall never fall! I will rise above every nation, and live on forever, shining light onto the dark places of the world!" As he said this, the last bit of the sun's light stretched over the land, and the dim golden-yellow hue of it shown off of Rom's armor and made him appear to be glowing, just as the land around him faded into the dark.

Rom was destined for greatness, however, little did he know that Babylon and Chaldea both pledged the same thing in their day. They both said they would never truly die, and that they would one day return. And perhaps they will...

**_Author's Notes_**: Ok so this introduction wasn't as well written as it could have been but I'm to lazy to change it. Also I know it's kind of weird but it's important to the story. So ya. :/


	2. Chapter 1: Germany and the Romantics

**Kingdoms of Men**

Chapter One: Germany and the Romantics

The sun had blazed intensely all day over Italy's country, which had been in a drought for the last few months. Germany and France were were making their way to Italy's house discuss the current state of the European Union, as well as scold him for once again not properly preparing for the drought, as droughts are known to occur in his country from time to time.

As they walked up the old stone steps leading up to his house, they saw that a pizza delivery man with a fake-looking mustache was already waiting at the door.

"Who's that weirdo with the pedo mustache?" asked France.

"You would know pedo when you see him..." answered Germany, with an annoyed but stern look on his face.

"What? I am offended that you would think such things about me. Just because I have a love for all beautiful things, whatever their age, does not make me..." snapped France before being interrupted by the pizza man, who just walked up right in front of them.

"Eh, mama mia, pizzaria! Di-journo!" blurted the strange, nervous looking man. France and Germany just stared at him, making him feel even more uncomfortable. After a few awkward seconds of silence, the man continued.

"Eh, you two a-must a-be-a France and Germany! Well, Italy isn't a-home a-right now! So you two should just a-go away and a-come back another a-day..."

"Why are you speaking with a really bad Italian accent, aren't you an Italian?" inquired Germany.

"Uh! Er... hmmm..." mumbled the man, trying to come up with an answer. France, confused, but suddenly infatuated with the large, bushy mustache, reached out and began stroking it.

"Ah, it is silky smooth, like the skin of a beautiful -" "FRANCE, STOP IT THIS INSTANT!" shouted Germany, cutting him off before he could finish.

The startled France jerked his hand suddenly, knocking off the mustache, revealing that it was indeed fake. Germany and France watched the mustache fall until it hit the ground, then looked back up to see the face of Italy staring back at them.

Italy immediately started spazzing out and tried explaining to them what was going on, but just then the door to his house opened up, and his brother South Italy walked out. He walked up to Italy and stuffed a tomato in his mouth to get him to shut up, then he explained to them the situation.

"Alright look you assholes, my brother Italy has been a-freaking out all day because of this "meeting" you two have forced on him. Now I don't know what has him so freaked out, but I'm not going to let you two have your way with him..."

France raised his eyebrow and seemed to smirk slightly at the last comment, while Germany just face-palmed.

"Look, we have something important to discuss with your brother, and the sooner you let us speak with him the sooner we can leave. I promise it won't take very long. Now hand him over."

South Italy, while patting his downcast brother Italy, wasn't stirred. In truth, he didn't really care that much about Italy being upset, rather he was upset that the other major European nations were suddenly taking so much interest in him, and not himself.

"Look, why is it you keep inviting him to all the big meetings and fancy parties and shit, but you leave me out? I'm just as much a part of the whole of Italy as my brother! Whatever you have to say to him, you say to me from now on. And besides, I'm smarter than him and can make better decisions for the both of us than he can."

"Ugh, fine, if it's such a big deal than I guess we can let you in on this meeting, but if you piss me off I'll kick your ass out through the third story window of your brother's house. Verstehen?" conceded Germany, annoyed. Then he turned to Italy, who was still kind of moping around in the shade of the vine trees near his house.

"And you, why did you just dress up as a pizza man to trick us? If you didn't want to attend the meeting then you could have just said so... although we still probably would have forced you to go anyway."

Italy, still moping, slowly moved toward the group.

"Well, you see, uh... whenever you invite me to one of your EU meetings, (or any meeting for that matter), it's always because you want to force me to give you guys something..." explained Italy.

"Wow, that's not cute or funny at all," spoke another man who was coming up the steps to meet them. The other countries turned to see who it was, and it was Spain, with England following close behind.

"I was expecting something cute or funny from Italy, but I'm a little disappointed. Don't tell me you guys have really been treating him bad enough to take away his goofiness. I always liked that about him," continued Spain, with his usual warm, bumpkin manner.

"You don't have to worry about that," explained France, "he was just dressed up as a pedophile pizza man before you got here. He's still the same Italy that he's always been..."

Just then, France's gaze met England's with some fierceness.

"Ah, England. I see you've decided to come, for once. What, was America not giving you any attention so you decided to come here and see if any of us gorgeous romantic nations would give you some?" prodded France.

England immediately felt like exploding in British fury and whooping his ass, but he didn't want to waste time arguing with France all day.

"Ah, France. I see you've decided to come to yet another EU meeting. What, do you actually think that this will somehow make the other countries respect you again and make them see you as more than a total hoebag?"

France was visibly shocked and offended, and South Italy laughed loudly at England's comment.

"That's enough, France, England!" commanded Germany.

"Pft! You guys can kiss my arse. If I wanted I could wreck every single one of you, what with me having an actual military and all that. So suck on that, white stains," retorted England, with his usual English-flavored sourness.

He continued, "Anyway, I'm not going to your meeting. I was simply dropping off Spain, who was paying me handsomely to get him here on time. But I have my own appointments that I must tend to now."

And with that he turned, walked down the steps, and made his way to his handsome Rolls-Royce, parked just across the street from Italy's house.

"You call ME a whore? Fucking limey!" screamed France to England as he opened his car door to get in.

England simply gave him the finger and drove off.

Germany smacked France across the face. "Shut up, France. Save yourself from further embarrassment," he said solemnly.

"Well then," chimed in Spain to end the awkward situation, "We should probably begin the meeting, yes? Everyone is here. Well, except England, but he hardly ever comes to these kind of meetings."

Germany, visibly miffed at the way England told him off, agreed with Spain.

"Yes, you're right, everyone else that was invited is here, as well as South Italy. Now, this is technically an informal meeting, and that is why we are having it at Italy's house. However, I and France think that you will all find the subject of the meeting intriguing."

All of the others looked to Germany, and, except for Italy, were all interested in what he was saying. So they all made their way into Italy's house to begin the meeting.

_Author's Notes_: Ok so this is my first actual chapter to the story. The introduction was a little too weird but I won't change it because it's important to the story. Hope you enjoy it! :)

Also, "verstehen" = german word for "understand"


	3. Chapter 2: Changes in Europe

**Kingdoms of Men**

Chapter Two: Changes in Europe

Munching on a tomato, South Italy watched the other nations begin the meeting with great interest and eagerness, because this was the first real meeting he had been too, although he tried to hide it. He even looked into a nearby mirror to make sure his face looked bored; like he didn't care. The other countries all assembled themselves at a large table, and called for his brother Italy to join them. Apparently they forgot about him, as usual.

Feeling left out, South Italy got up from the couch from which he was sitting and started toward the group, preparing yell something at them and make himself seem tough and important. Yet before he took his second step, Spain looked right at him and gave a warm smile.

"Ah, I was wondering where you were. I was about to call for you," said Spain.

"Oh..." remarked South Italy as he blinked at Spain. Not knowing what to say, he simply made his way to table and found a seat next to his brother.

"You know, Romania should be here..." said France, while reaching for the flower-filled vase in the middle of the table. He plucked a rose out from it and smelled it, and then put it in the front left pocket of his shirt.

"No, he isn't ready for something like this," replied Germany sternly. "Besides, this is an informal meeting. You know why we invited who we did."

The other three nations were all slightly puzzled at what was just said.

"What is this about, Germany?" asked Spain.

"It is about the changing world..." answered France, who suddenly seemed more serious than he usually did, "... and our place in it."

The other nations looked blankly at him, wondering what he meant.

* * *

Meanwhile, Greece was busy digging for his mother's ruins, as usual. As he worked, a Turkish man drove up to him in a car, nearly running him over. Greece jumped out of the way and the car stopped.

The man tossed an envelope out the car window and then drove off immediately, making his way back to a road that led to a port city on the Ionian Sea, presumably to go back to Turkey. Greece walked over and picked up the envelope.

Confused, he opened it and took a short letter from it.

It read as follows:

"Greece:

I don't know what France and those other Europeans are acting so strangely over, but I know that they are having you look for something among your mother's ruins. If you let me know what it is, and let me have it, I won't invade your country. I may impose trade sanctions anyway, though. I've been thinking about that for a while.

-Turkey"

Greece let out a long sigh and scratched his head.

"Asshole."

He walked over to a large stone tablet and sat on it to rest a while, wondering about the same things that Turkey talked about in the letter.

"Hmm... I need to speak with with the others about this," he said to himself, sighing again.

Greece wasn't a very strong country, so he had to do whatever the stronger nations told him, especially those in the European Union, which he was also a part of. He didn't really know what was going on now, but he could tell that whatever it was, it has shaken France.

He remembered a few years back when France had approached him, telling him to look especially hard for any historical records kept by the ancient Greeks. It was something he always kept an eye out for, among everything else he looked for, but some reason the EU wanted ancient records more than anything else. France had even paid him a large sum of money right there, but it soon all went away thanks to the recent debt crises his country had recently gone through.

Greece looked up to the skies and sweat dripped from his forehead to the ground. The hot Mediterranean weather didn't seem to suit him as well as it did his mother. But of-course, his mother was a great, powerful nation, and he felt that he was just a weak link.

* * *

The cold streets of Moscow bustled with activity, and the late-afternoon sun shown weakly over Russia's capital. Cold winds blew softly throughout the maze of streets, quickly the chilling the weather.

Somewhere in the maze of streets, a long black limo raced along the streets, finding it's way to the Kremlin. Inside the limo was a variety of well-dressed men and women who had been invited by Russia's leader, Vladimir Putin. He decided to host a party for this group of politicians and world leaders who have acted favorably to him and Russia.

The Spasskaya tower came into view, with the Kremlin Wall Necropolis in the foreground. The limo pulled up and the people got out and were greeted by several of Putin's officials. Soon more limos pulled up and large crowd had formed, and was led into the Kremlin by the officials.

Among the crowd of people was Belarus and Ukraine, who slipped away from the crowd to meet with Russia, who was in a small room in one of the halls.

As the made their way to Russia's room, Belarus shot a wicked look to Ukraine, who looked back in confusion.

"I'll cut your breasts off if you make a move on my Russia," shot Belarus, deeply disturbing Ukraine, who instinctively cradled her breasts at the thought.

"I- it w-won't come to that," she assured Belarus, who simply held out her knife for a few seconds to show Ukraine, before hiding it away again. Gulping, Ukraine simply pointed out the door to the room Russia told them to meet him in.

"Th-there is where the-"

"I know which one it is, fool," interrupted Belarus.

As they walked in, Bulgaria and Serbia greeted them.

"Oh, Russia, your sisters are here," said Serbia. Russia immediately froze in his place as he was pouring some vodka into his tea. The stood there so long that the vodka overflowed and spilled everywhere.

Belarus blushed slightly and the other three just stood there awkwardly, waiting until Russia made a move or said something. He seemed to let out a barely audible squeak, which confused everyone.

Regaining his composure, he turned to them.

"Ah, well. I want you all to spy on Romania, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and the Baltic brothers. Shouldn't be too hard, da?" blurted Russia, anxious to get Belarus to leave.

"Oh, and of-course you will report everything you discover to me. And I mean everything. Alright, you can all go now."

The others all looked to him, wondering if that was really it, and wondering if he really wanted them to spy on all those other countries.

"Ah, dear brother, why now? You have no reason to-" began Ukraine, before Belarus put a knife up to her throat.

"Don't question your brother, fool. He is older and wiser and far more beautiful than you. Just leave now and do as he says," commanded Belarus harshly.

Scared, Ukraine complied and left the room immediately. Bulgaria and Serbia freaked out and left the room as well, fearful of Belarus.

With a blank expression on his face, Russia watched them leave and realized he was alone with Belarus.

"Oh, my dear Ivan, we are alone," quipped Belarus, which only served to freak her brother out.

"Belarus, you should leave now. Just go now," he pleaded.

Instead of leaving, she walked up to him and laid her head on Russia's chest and hugged him, all the while putting her knife up to his back.

"Oh Ivan, you are so warm... in such contrast to your country."

Russia gulped as she looked up to him and grabbed to the back of his head and pulled his face down to hers.

"If only you showed such warmth to me... all the time..." she sighed, and Russia began sweating in his stress.

The door to their room seemed to shut by itself, as if some evil force wished to keep Russia trapped in there with his sister forever, or so Russia thought, anyway.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the meeting in Italy's house, Germany and the others continued their meeting.

"This meeting is indeed about our place in the world," said Germany, "and much more."

The other nations were quiet, not sure how to respond. Finally, Spain spoke up.

"Is there a reason why this is a private, informal meeting? Why did you invite us for such a meeting?" he inquired.

Germany lifted up his suitcase and set it on the table. He opened it up and took out several large stacks of papers and set them on the table.

"Go ahead and read some of these. I'm sure you'll know what these are. Especially you, Spain."

Spain lifted his eyebrow curiously, and grabbed a few of the papers and began reading them. The others all watched him read until he finally looked surprised.

"This is..."

"Yes," said Germany.

Spain began to question.

"But... what does this..."

"It proves one thing for certain," answered Germany, "That the world is becoming a darker place."

South Italy looked to his brother, who listened to intently to what Germany was saying, as usual.

"The world is darkening," Germany continued, "and we need to start asking ourselves some hard questions."

Italy looked between Germany and Spain, and wondered what the papers were. Spain held tightly onto the papers, knowing that these were the very same things that had thrown so much of his country into an uproar. But he still did not understand the purpose of the meeting, as he felt there was something that Germany and France hadn't revealed to them yet.

"These documents..." began Spain, with Germany looking intently at him, "... what is this all about, Germany?"

* * *

_Author's Notes_: Alright so I finally wrote a new chapter for this story. If it seems to drag let me know. And of-course any constructive criticism is welcome. :)

I'll try to update more frequently. Hope you enjoy. :)


	4. Chapter 3: Mystery Man

**Kingdoms of Men**

Chapter Three: Mystery Man

Clutching onto the documents Germany had brought, he briefly remembered his past before, during, and after the Spanish Civil War, in 1936.

* * *

**Years 1898 - 1978: Spain's Troubles **

The stability of Spain's country had been weakened after America defeated him in the Spanish-American War. Spain scrambled to keep his economy and what was left of his empire in order, until finally he had conquered parts of Africa, the most important being a part of Morocco.

"This is because of all those Muslim invasions!" declared Spain to Morocco, who himself had little to do with the Muslim invasion of Spain.

It wasn't long, however until a trouble maker and potential nation, who called himself Rif, revolted from both Spanish rule and Morocco for a second time. Spain, with France's help, defeated him, but at a heavy cost of life. These heavy losses greatly embittered Spain and the Spanish people, and undermined the Spanish monarchy.

General Miguel Primo de Rivera led Spain under authoritarian rule until 1931, until finally the Second Spanish Republic was established. Voting rights were given to women, and Spain seemed to finally be on the right track again. However, he became lazy, and General Francisco Franco led Nationalist forces against the Second Spanish Republic in 1936, throwing the country into a civil war. Three years later, the Nationalist forces emerged victorious and had the support of the Nazis in Germany and the Fascists in Italy.

"Ah, you see, Germany? Spain is on the right track again. Soon the rest of Europe will be, also!" exclaimed Hitler, who was Germany's boss at the time. Germany simply sighed in both stress and distress.

Spain himself was devastated by the Civil War, which claimed the lives 500,000 of his people. Still about another 500,000 had fled the country, most to Argentina. Defeated, weakened, and deeply saddened, a miserable Spain watched on in further horror at the atrocities of World War II, although he remained neutral in that conflict.

After World War II Spain was politically and economically isolated, but that changed in 1955, during the Cold War. America discovered that Spain's country held great strategic importance against Russia and his Soviet Union.

"So Spain, I'm gonna establish a military presence in your country to keep Russia away from the Mediterranean basin. Hope you don't mind. Thanks!" declared America energetically to Spain, not really considering Spain's feelings in the matter.

Luckily, the fires of democracy spread into the hearts of the Spanish people again, and if nothing else, Spain was admitted into the United Nations when he let America establish a presence there. Finally, in 1975, Juan Carlos assumed the position of King of Spain and head of state. The approved new Spanish Constitution of 1978 brought democracy, and peace, to Spain. Because of the hardships that both the monarchy and authoritarian rule brought to Spain, democracy was, to him and his people, like a godsend.

* * *

Germany observed Spain for a bit as he was thinking.

"I know what a big deal those leaked cables are to you. I know your history with democracy, and how it is important to you," said Germany. Spain looked back to him with a solemn look on his face.

"It is true... democracy is extremely important to the Spanish people," began Spain, "and it is true that they are outraged at what so many governments are doing to the man who brought these cables and documents to light. They consider it hypocrisy that so many "democratic governments" are trying to shut him up.

Laying the documents he was clutching on the table, Italy and South Italy both curiously peaked over at them. South Spain grabbed a few of them and began searching them. Looking through them, he soon found himself surprised at what they said as well, but he still didn't know what they were.

Spain continued speaking.

"So then, what? The contents of those cables and documents are startling to be sure, but have they really gotten you so worried as to question your place in the world? I'm afraid I still don't understand."

Spain then turned his head to France to confront him.

"France, your government has criticized Mr. Assange and his activities as well."

France simply shrugged and replied.

"You should know that government's do not always speak for their people, dear Spain. You lived under authoritarian rule for a long time."

"Hey, wait a second," interrupted South Italy, "I don't even know what you three are talking about! And if I don't know, then my clueless brother certainly doesn't know, either."

At this, they all looked to where Italy was sitting, only to see that he was missing.

"Oh, uh... you're right. I'm sorry. Let's find Italy before he decides to play in the middle of the street or something," answered Germany, somewhat alarmed by the fact that Italy had disappeared, "... and then I'll explain everything."

A panicked South Italy rushed to the door in search of his brother. He couldn't help but think he was in the middle of a road like Germany said, playing around innocently before being crushed under a school-bus.

He opened the door and rushed forward, only to trip over Italy, who was sitting just outside the door, and fall down the stone stairs leading up the doorway. With a large bump now sitting on his forehead, South Italy crawled back up the stairway to see Italy coloring in some well-drawn butterflies on a piece of paper.

"F-Feliciano**... **you... I hate you... pasta-freak..."

With that he fell down face first, unconscience. France, Germany, and Spain came out through the open door and watched Italy finish up his small piece of artwork, South Italy's right arm outstretched toward him.

"The United Nations believes that Julian Assange is a martyr for free speech," remarked Germany, quietly.

"What do you two think about it?" questioned Spain, "You still haven't explained the meaning of this meeting."

"Germany!" exclaimed Italy suddenly, "Check out this snazzy drawing I just finished! Isn't it shizzy?"

"Yes, yes, that's a very girly pink butterfly you've got there, now pay attention!"

Italy instantly dropped his drawing and stood up straight and saluted him, staying in a salute position until told to be at ease.

Turning to Spain, Germany began to explain.

"This 'Wikileaks' website is not going to last very long, well, probably not. So I have read as much of the leaks as I could find, and I must say, the world is changing. But of-course, these leaked cables are not the only reason I think so. Rather, they only support things that I've known for a long time."

"Things that he's known for a long time?" Spain thought to himself, "What does he mean by that?"

Before he could say anything, France jumped in suddenly.

"Allow me to tell you straight-up, Spain. Germany and I are working to increase the EU's power, with the intention of eventually uniting all of Europe into a single, strong entity. A single country, if you will."

The revelation stunned Spain, not knowing what to think.

"EHHH? WAIT! I DON'T WANT TO DIE! WAHHHH!" cried a startled Italy upon hearing this.

"ITALY! ITALY! LISTEN TO ME! You will not die or lose your identity, anymore than Prussia did" yelled Germany. After Italy calmed down enough, he got the message.

"But why?" inquired Spain, "I may be a founding member of the European Union, but that doesn't mean that I want it to be a single nation, or even pave the way to a single, united European nation. It would have too much power!"

"And nations like America and China don't?" fired back Germany, "This is for the security of the European nations, and to secure their place in the world! And besides! We Europeans have a greater de-"

"That's enough for now, Germany," France interrupted. An eerie silence fell on them all, and Spain wanted to ask what Germany was about to say, but France continued to speak.

"I think we'll let you stew over this for awhile, when we wish to speak more about this, we'll let you know."

Germany then handed Spain some more papers.

"These are top-secret files that some individuals in France's government have compiled. They have nothing to do with America's leaked cables, at least, not directly. You'll want to look these over."

And with that, he and France took their leave. Germany patted Italy's head to reassure him. When Italy smiled back, he continued on.

Spain and Italy stood there solemnly for a few moments, not sure what to do.

"You should take care of your brother, Italy," ordered Spain as he also took his leave.

"Don't let them talk you into anything yet, not until we discuss this more. There is a reason why they told us about this first, don't forget that," he continued as he walked away.

Just then he realized that England had already driven off and left him there, even though he was supposed to transport him back to his country after the meeting.

"Damn you, England!", he cried, "I'm going to miss the new episode of 'El cor de la Ciutat!'"

He turned around to go back and ask Italy to help him out, but Italy was no where in sight, and his door was still open. Spain went inside, but couldn't find him. However, he noticed that all of the leaked cables and documents that Germany had brought over were gone. South Italy was laying on a couch, and the computer was on, with Youtube in the browser window.

"... Guess I'll just... watch some Youtube? Meh..."

* * *

Italy walked along the small, winding streets near his home, reading the papers that Germany brought over.

"What is this?" he asked himself, reading one of the cables, "America and South Korea are making plans to reunite the Korean Peninsula? How is that a secret? Oh well, I guess it really hasn't been said before... Whoa... Saudi Arabia's boss, King Abdullah, asked for an American strike on Iran? This is some pretty heavy stuff... too important for me to know about..."

Just as he was about to stop reading and turn back home, another batch of cables caught his eye. This time, it had to do with his own boss, Silvio Berlusconi.

"Wait a minute..." said Italy a bit shakily, "Shadowy gifts and business deals between Berlusconi... and...?"

Italy's eyes widened, and he freaked out and ran home.

* * *

The next day, France was being driven to his house after arriving in his country by plane.

"Alright, here you are, sir... who did you say you were again?" asked the limo driver to France as he drove up to France's house.

"A friend of our president, you know that," answered France coyly before getting out.

As he walked up the steps to the front porch, he saw Greece sitting there, speaking with one of the scantily-clad French maids. The maid was laughing, so apparently Greece was good with the ladies.

"Hello Heracles, what are you doing here at my house? Did you discover something important among your mother's ruins, yet?" he inquired, now standing near to where Greece was sitting.

"Oh, France. I didn't see that you were here..."

"I can see that..." smirked France, looking over at the maid.

Blushing, the maid quickly made her exit and went inside the house without saying anything.

"Er, yea... well, I don't have anything for you yet, but I thought I should tell you that Turkey had a letter delivered to me a day ago. I have here with me; you can read it if you want."

Greece held out the letter, but France refused it.

"Greece my friend, I can already guess as to what kind of things that Turkey would say to you in a letter... I prefer not to pollute my mind with such things," he explained.

"Oh, so you would rather pollute your mind with other things..." observed Greece, looking at another scantily-clad maid through a window in the house.

France cleared his throat.

"Erm, is that all?" he asked, a little annoyed that Greece apparently thought he would want to know about a letter.

"Well, it's just that he threatened to invade me if I don't tell him what I'm looking for. He also said that's he's been thinking about ending all trade with me," Greece explained.

"Wait, he wants to know what you're looking for? So he knows that I'm having you look for something?"

"Yes."

"Oh, I see..."

France twirled his long blonde hair in his fingers.

"He doesn't know what it is you're looking for, though?" he inquired.

"No, I just said that he threatened to invade me if I don't tell him what it is."

"I see, then. Well, you don't have to worry about him invading or even ending trade with you. Those are both just empty threats. He wouldn't dare attack a country that is both in the European Union, and an ally of mine. You have nothing to worry about, just keep excavating your ruins as usual. Turkey is a non-issue," France assured him.

Letting out a sigh of relief at France's words, and the confidence with which he said them, Greece got up from his chair to leave.

"Heh, well that's a relief. Thanks. I'll be going now. Oh, and here is a small statue of a bird I found among the ruins. It's wings are broken off, but I know you kind of like that kind of thing," offered Greece, handing France the bird.

As Greece began making his way down the steps, France got a sneaky look in his eye, and called out to him.

"Oh, well, you know, Greece, it sometimes gets a bit lonely here. Perhaps you could... spend the night for some fun."

Greece stopped for a second, without turning back around to talk to him. Then he suddenly ran way, as fast he could.

Looking on sadly, France removed himself from the porch and went into his house.

"Looks like I'll just have to settle for the maids again tonight... not that that's a bad thing," he said to himself with a smirk.

He made his way to his bedroom, and began to think to himself.

"I should let Greece in on the plan soon, he is an important piece of it, after all."

Walking into his bedroom, he sat down at his large, ornate desk and began writing something down.

* * *

"Right there, stop zooming in, that's perfect," directed Belarus to several men in a dark room. She had set up secret cameras in the houses of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, and had been observing their activities for the couple of days. So far, she has found nothing.

"Ma'am, it seems that this man is preparing to brush his teeth," informed one of the men.

"Wow, that's incredible. Idiot. I don't give a shit if- wait a minute..." she trailed off, observing how after he brushed his teeth, he didn't use mouthwash. In fact he didn't even rinse his mouth out with water.

"He just... brushes his teeth... and doesn't rinse or anything? That's disgusting! Does he have any mouthwash?"

"Negative, Ma'am," answered one of the men.

"Ugh, forget about this guy for now. Show me Raivus," she ordered, referring to Latvia.

Several large computer screens in the room suddenly changed from showing Lithuania to showing Latvia, who was already in bed, sleeping with a large teddy bear that was about the same size as he was.

"Raivus Galente... he always was kind of a baby..." Belarus commented to herself.

"Ugh... these guys are so boring... why are we spying on them?" asked one of the men.

"Shut the hell up, or I'll shank your ass!" commanded Belarus, who now seemed to have a red glow in her eyes and dark aura surrounding her, which seemed to chill the men to their bones.

* * *

"Alright, so I'll let you write out the legislation, Mr. Putin," chimed Russia, happy that his "work day" was finally over and he could leave. Making his way out of the Kremlin, he thought about the legislation being written for his country now, and how much his boss does.

"Mr. Putin is a very busy man... I'll buy him a bottle of vodka on my way home tonight, and give it to him tomorrow," he thought to himself. "And... I wonder if he's right about the American credit card companies... meh, oh well. In the end, all will be one with Mother Russia."

Smiling at the though, he decided to walk home that night, to give him time to think about everything

that was going on. He remembered that he had a meeting with China soon, but as he did, he stopped in his tracks to observe an odd man standing before him, in his way, as if he was about to say something.

The man wore a long, brown overcoat, with a fedora hat covering most of his face so that Russia couldn't see what he looked like.

"You should brace yourself, great one," said the man finally.

" 'Great one'...? Ah, you think that I am great. That is good..." grinned Russia, "but... what should I brace myself for?"

"The changing world... there is a time of great distress, and even sorrow coming for the world..."

Russia just stared at the man, waiting for him to explain further, but deciding that he was just crazy.

"Ah, well, I'm glad that you recognize greatness when you see it, but I must be off," he explained, as politely as he knew how.

He walked passed him cautiously, and snow started to lightly fall to the ground.

"I know that you're spying on several countries," confessed the man suddenly, stopping Russia in his tracks.

"I also know that you, Mr. Putin, and several Russian politicians are trying to get some legislation passed that will ban American credit card companies from having any business in Russia. Especially Visa and MasterCard," he continued.

Russia's face had a blank expression as he stood there, completely still for a moment, but then relaxing.

"What else do you know?" he finally inquired.

"That Russian officials assume that US payment systems routinely share data associated with payment transactions by Russian cardholders with intelligence services in the US, and possibly elsewhere," the man answered.

"And I also know that the Russian government is also considering whether to implement a new system of card payments, called NPCS, which would create a new payment processor run by Russia's state banks. This would then handle all processing for domestic banking in the country," he continued.

"Finally, I know that the draft legislation has yet to be submitted to the Duma and can still be amended," he finished, with a grin.

Russia and the man stood there for several seconds, each still facing the opposite way from each other. The snow began to fall heavier than before, and chilly winds started to bite into Russia's skin, despite the fact that he was wearing a large overcoat.

"... You know quite a lot. How do you know all of this? Who are you?" Russia finally demanded.

"Oh, damn. Would you look at the time. I'm late for an important engagement. I'm sorry for doing this to you and then leaving suddenly, but I really must go," answered the man.

As the man started walking away, but Russia took out his pipe from underneath his overcoat, and charge at the man. He swung it down so fast, that the man could not react. The pipe struck him on the side of the head; Russia was aiming for his temple to kill him.

The man fell down on his side, and Russia kicked him over so he was laying on his back. The fedora hat that was hiding his face fell off, but before Russia could see his face, in the blink of an eye, the man was suddenly standing behind him.

He kicked Russia's legs out from under him, and he fell down. Russia looked up at the man, but he had somehow already put his fedora hat back on, and was walking away to a safe distance from him. He then turned around as Russia got up, and they both looked to each other for a few seconds.

"By the way, Mr. Ivan Braginski," began the man, "Not only do I know your name, but I know who you _**are.**_"

At that, he walked away into a dark alleyway. Russia stared on in disbelief. He didn't know what to think or do about what the man said.

"If he meant what I thought he meant..." thought Russia to himself, "... what should I do? Should I do anything? What did he mean when he said the world was changing? Is this part of it? How did he know so much about the legislation and credit card system? How did he recover from being struck? How did he move so fast? What is going on?"

By the time these questions raced through his head, there was already a thin layer of snow on the ground. Just then, he noticed that there was blood on his faucet pipe, where he struck the man with.

He then looked and saw a trail of blood, following the trail of footsteps left by the man. The two trails led into the alleyway that he had disappeared into, so Russia got up to chase after him.

Yet as soon as he came to the alleyway, both the trail of blood and the trail of footsteps ended just inside the alley. Furthermore, the alleyway met a dead end not to far in.

Russia looked around nervously for any other trace him. It was then that he noticed a gas mask sitting neatly on a nearby windowsill. He went over to examine it, and found that it was a Cold War-era mask.

"... What the hell... is going on...?" he asked out-loud to himself.

He picked up the mask and began making his way home, stuffing the mask in a pocket in his overcoat and deciding to examine it when he got home.

* * *

The next day, in the British MI6 headquarters building, the Chief of the MI6, Sir John Sawers, read through the report that England himself had recently written and submitted to him. England stood there in some anticipation, waiting for him to finish so they could discuss what to do.

Finally, he finished and set the report on his desk. While still sitting, he put his elbows on the desk and folded his fingers together, and rested his chin on them for a few moments as he thought about what he just read.

"Alright, Arthur," he began, "You've done a good job, as usual. I'll tell the prime minister about the report. You should speak to him tomorrow about what he wants you to do next."

"Of course," answered England, "I'm sure there's more to do, considering Russia not only had that meeting with Serbia, Bulgaria, and his sisters, but was also conversing with and attacked a mysterious man who stopped him on the road. The most disturbing thing is how the man got away... I still don't know if I believe what I saw."

"Yes, well, go get some rest," replied Mr. Sawers, "and... do be careful from here on out, Arthur. I don't know how to explain it, but I have a strange feeling about what's going on. And not just with Russia and his 'friends,' either. And like I always say to my agents, one wrong move could-"

"Yea, yea," cut in England before he could finish, "one wrong move when dealing with Russia could set off a second Cold War, I know. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

"I hope so, and don't get arrogant or cocky," said Mr. Sawers with a sigh. "You and America are sometimes more alike then you realize. It's a good thing that I'm one of the few people who knows what you are, being the secretive person I am. Well, I kind-of know what you are, anyway."

England smirked a little and gave a nod of assurance to him before stepping out of the office door.

* * *

_Author's Notes:_ Alright so you know how in the actual series, they often times cut away to explain a bit of history? Well that's kind of what the beginning is. It may be awkward and I don't know if I'll do it again, but it can't hurt to experiment a little bit, right?

Anyways, this chapter is pretty long compared to the others because I'm not sure I'll get another chapter done this week or not, so it's like two chapters in one.

Constructive criticism is welcome as always, and I hope you'll enjoy the read!


	5. Chapter 4: Secret Plans and Dirty Deeds

**Kingdoms of Men**

Chapter Four: Secret Plans and Dirty Deeds

"Careful, careful..." began Belarus, "... one wrong move and..."

"Another Cold War?" answered one of the hackers before she could finish.

"... Well, maybe that's what he wants..." she pondered aloud, confusing the men around her.

"Ah! We got them! The documents are being downloaded now! None of them are top-secret, but they are highly confidential. We did good!" declared another hacker on the other end of the room happily,

"And we didn't get caught! I get to go home to my family tonight!"

"Ah, man, are you kidding me? I almost had those documents myself..." remarked the first hacker sadly, and Belarus made her way over to the successful hacker.

"Heh, maybe one day you'll beat me to the punch, Kirill," said the second hacker as Belarus looked over his shoulder to see the documents being downloaded.

Belarus smiled and ordered them all to finish up as she stepped outside to be by herself.

"Maybe now he will accept me..." she thought to herself with a small, almost creepy half-grin on her face.

"Maybe now my dear Ivan will love me."

* * *

"Monsieur, we've detected something abnormal among the networks connected to Poland. It seems another country is using outdated tech to snoop around," remarked a French DGSE agent suddenly, as he was moderating European internet networks.

"Who is doing this?" asked Erard Corbin de Mangoux, the director and agency executive of the DGSE.

"I don't know, I can't track them down."

"Then their technology is not totally out-of-date," remarked Mangoux, "I will alert Monsieur Morin immediately!"

* * *

"Lets rest here for a few moments, I'm not much for these mountains," said Azerbaijan to his intimidating companions, Turkey and Iran.

"Alright, we can stay here for a few moments and take in the scenery," answered Iran, who happened to be his older brother, "That is, if it is alright with Turkey. He is our host, after all."

"Huh? Oh, yes, sure," shrugged Turkey, "In fact, this is a good time to speak to you about Europe, like I mentioned earlier."

The three of them had been hiking in the mountainous Van Province, in southeastern Turkey. Turkey and the two others looked on from their trail at the great mountains before them, and Iran waited for him to begin the conversation.

"Did you two know..." Turkey began, "... that this province was the center of a nation named Biainili?"

Iran looked to him finally, recognizing the name.

"Oh! I think I faintly remember someone named Biainili," answered Azerbaijan.

"Ah yes, I have heard of Biainili from my mentor Persia," Iran began to answer, "He told me that he had a friend and rival named Media, and that Media conquered him in the 6th century BC. At that point he apparently disappeared, yes?"

Turkey smiled good-naturedly and continued,

"Biainili was said to be a descendent of Chaldea, one of the first nations. The word Urartu itself is rumored to come from the name Ur, one of the first city-states, which would later become a Chaldean city. In fact," he went on, "his language, the Urartian language, was at an early point in history called Chaldean."

Iran and Azerbaijan looked at him, neither apparently very interested in what he was saying.

"Er, well, that is interesting I suppose, if you like history..." began Azerbaijan.

"I do," answered Turkey.

"Oh, well, it's just that I thought that you wanted to speak to us about the European countries," Azerbaijan finished.

"Actually, he just wanted to speak with me. I only brought you along because you kept begging me to let you in on the stuff I was up to, as usual," remarked Iran, as he bonked Azerbaijan on the head lightly with his fist.

"You're still an annoying little brother, when are you ever going to grow up?" asked Iran, still picking on him.

"What the hell are you talking about, Iran?" asked an infuriated Azerbaijan, "If anything, you're _my _annoying little brother. I'm older than you are! Persia found and raised me before you even existed! I still don't understand why Persia left his country to you..."

The two brothers proceeded to scrabble about, punching and kicking and pulling each others hair. In the midst of the tussle, Iran pushed Azerbaijan away and tackled him to the ground, and they proceeded to roll off the edge of the mountain trail they were on, to Turkey's shock and horror.

"What the fuck, guys? Shit!" yelled a panicked Turkey as he charged off the trail after them.

* * *

Meanwhile, in London, England prepared to interrogate two men who attempted to plant bombs in the city's subway-system. Mr. Sawyers, the MI6 chief, met with England briefly and told him that he will listen in on their conversation.

"Alright, thanks, John. I'll go interrogate them now," said England to Mr. Sawyers.

"Good, good. I'll be right here," began Sawyers, "Don't let up on them. We need to find out what group or organization they are from, and why they attempted to do this."

England looked grim in the pale light of the room they were in, the lighting making the bags under England's eyes look larger and darker than they really were. Mr. Sawyers noticed and pondered what he could be thinking about.

"I told you to get some sleep last night," he finally said to break the silence.

"Oh, I did, I did. It's just that... this incident could have been as bad as 7/7," answered England grimly with a hint of regret in his voice, referring to the July 7, 2005 London Bombings, a terrorist attack on London's transport system that killed 56 people were killed and injured 700.

"Don't worry about it, we stopped it from happening this time. Just go in and find out whatever you can from them, so we won't have to worry about this happening again," answered Mr. Sawyers somewhat gently.

"Yea, lets do this," said England with renewed confidence.

Leaving the recording room where Mr. Sawyers would stay to listen to the conversation, England hastily made his way to the confession room itself. He stopped at the door before opening it, took in a deep breath to calm himself, and then opened it. Inside, the first of the two terrorists was sitting at a plain white table, himself looking ragged and tired.

England shut the door tightly, almost as if he was holding back some anger, and took a few steps toward the man. The man looked up at England with a determined, yet oddly blank look in his eyes.

* * *

Back in the Van Province in Turkey, the trio of Muslim nations slowly hiked their way back up to the trail, after nearly rolling of the side of the mountain completely. They ended up near the place on the trail where they fell off.

"Damnit, Azerbaijan, you fucking dumbass! I can't believe you pushed me over that edge!" roared Iran angrily to his cousin, "Seriously, why do these things always happen to me?"

"Er, Iran, you were the one who egged him on... and you were the one who tackled him to the ground..." began Turkey, trying to calm them down.

"Yes, but! But! He was the one who rolled both of us off the cliff! He's to blame!" countered Turkey.

"Stop acting like you're the innocent one! Just because you weren't the one who actually threw yourself off the mountain trail doesn't mean that you don't hold any responsibility for what happened! Damn, Iran, you're such a child!" cut in Azerbaijan.

"That's enough! Both of you! Just shut the hell up already!" yelled Turkey, who had enough of their fighting.

"Oh, I apologize for our childishness, Turkey," apologized Azerbaijan, "Please, let's just discuss what you wanted to speak to us about."

"Yes, yes... lets just get this over with..." said Iran with a hint of apology in his voice.

Turkey looked at them both with a look of disappointment on his face, deciding whether or not he should trust such childish countries. However, he began to explain.

"... I do not know if you have noticed or not, but some of the European nations have been acting very strangely..." he began.

"Oh, well, I'm sure my boss, Ahmadinejad, will assume that Israel and America have something to do with it..." remarked Iran, thinking out-loud.

"I don't know much about America," began Azerbaijan, but I would think that if the European countries are intimidated by anyone, it's Russia."

Azerbaijan clenched his hands into fists as he spoke, visibly angry.

"That damn Russia..." he continued, "he forced me to into the Soviet Union and made me give him almost all of my oil. Then he forced me into digging him trenches and being his beast of burden during the second World War."

"Hold on, Russia isn't such a bad guy," explained Iran, "He has helped me with my nuclear program, which will provide clean, safe energy for my people."

"And nuclear weapons..." remarked Azerbaijan with a somewhat dark cynicism.

"Oh, so you also think I shouldn't have a few of those?" questioned Iran angrily.

The two countries again began to scrabble and argue with each other. Sighing, Turkey face-palmed and turned his head to the west, looking towards Greece. With a ponderous look on his face, he turned back to the other two.

"Iran, what happened to Persia?" asked Turkey suddenly.

Becoming quiet, the two cousins looked at Turkey, and Azerbaijan looked to the ground, his face became downcast.

"Why are you asking this?" Iran finally questioned him sternly, "You know that Persia just disappeared and left one day. He left a will behind, which left the land of Persia and it's people to me. That's all anyone knows, including me."

"But why did he disappear? You have to know something about why he left," Turkey pressed on.

Iran shook his head and shrugged, and looked back at Azerbaijan for a moment before answering.

"Well, like I said, no one knows anything else. But my guess is that he just got tired of being a country. He was very old, after-all."

"Perhaps the Cold War had something to do with it," offered Turkey thoughtfully, "as he left during that so-called 'conflict.'"

Iran studied Turkey for a moment, trying to figure him out.

"Why do you care so much?" he inquired, somewhat suspiciously.

Azerbaijan looked back up from the ground to see Turkey answer, but he didn't. He just looked back at them silently for a few moments, and looked to the west again. Finally he turned his head back to them again.

"I... I'm sorry. I need to go now. Keep an eye on your weird leader, Iran. He's making a lot countries worry about their safety. Including me, to be honest."

With that, Turkey turned away back down the trail, not saying another word.

"I wonder if this has anything to do with those cables and documents that were leaked..." wondered Iran to himself.

"... I wonder if there is anything to those cables. My boss, Ahmadinejad, believes they are fake, and were part of a planned leak. But why would America willingly leak confidential information like that?" he continued wondering.

Azerbaijan and Iran looked at each other as Turkey left, not sure what to think.

"The Europeans aren't the only ones acting strangely," remarked Azerbaijan, with Iran nodding in agreement.

* * *

"Freedom!"

"Put Putin in jail!"

Several hundred demonstrators could be heard outside the courtroom in Moscow, protesting the guilty verdict given to Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the richest man in Russia, and political rival and threat to Vladimir Putin, Russia's prime minister.

Inside the Kremlin Senate building, Russia and Putin were watching the protests on a television, as the protests were being broadcasted.

"It seems that he will be taken care of. Good job pressuring the courts, Russia. Now, you have a meeting with China soon. You should go now," said Putin to Russia.

Russia, still thinking about what happened a few nights ago, took a couple of seconds to respond.

"Huh? Oh, da, I shall go prepare for the meeting now," Russia began, "but, uh... won't this have a negative impact on my economy? This Khodorkovsky fellow-"

Just then, he was interrupted by Khodorkovsky saying something to the cameras.

"A state that destroys its best companies and trusts only the bureaucracy and the special services is a sick state."

At that, Russia seemed to have a dark air about him, so much so that even Putin became extremely creeped out.

"... A sick state? Me? …"

"Oh, uh, Russia, don't let it get to you, just go on to your meeting with China," said Putin, trying to calm him down.

"Oh, I'll meet with China alright. I'll secure something good from him," Russia began sounding darker than before, "then we shall see if I am sick, da?"

He then turned to leave, without saying another word, and leaving Putin hiding behind his desk, waiting for him to leave.

As Russia left the Kremlin, he thought briefly about the man from a few nights before, and Cold War-era gas mask he found when the man disappeared. He had studied it the last few nights, but had not found anything unusual about it itself. The only unusual thing, as far as he could tell, was how he found it. He still had no idea what it meant or what was going on, but that would have to wait now.

"Call me a sick nation, will they?" thought Russia as he made his way to the Moscow Domodedovo Airport.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the Korean Peninsula, America and Korea watched from a distance as US and South Korean military forces began drills in an exercise zone for war games, with ships from both countries beginning the drills.

The pair stood their silently for a long time, watching the drills go by smoothly and taking notes. Korea thought it was odd how no one was talking, as America is usually very loud.

"It is good that you've finally decided to do some joint war games with me, North Korea has been completely unruly lately," said Korea finally, trying to break the strange silence.

But America continued looking on in silence, taking notes and occasionally handing a piece of paper or something else to a guard, who would take the note and leave. Korea assumed that they must be orders that America was giving to his military captain or something.

"America?" said Korea, trying to get his attention.

"Oh, yes? What is it?" responded America finally, looking up from his notes and straight at Korea, his bright, sky-blue eyes looking straight into Korea's own soft, earthy brown eyes.

Still not used to such a straight-forward manner, Korea looked away for a moment before regaining himself.

"I was just saying that it is good that you've finally decided to do some joint war games with me, North Korea has been acting up again," reiterated Korea.

"Oh!", exclaimed America, "Yes, of-course, after the Cheonan was sunk by North Korea, I decided to speed up our plans."

* * *

**Years 2009-2010: Rising Tensions on the Korean Peninsula**

As of early 2009, relationships between North and South Korea were very tense; North Korea had been reported to have deployed missiles, ended its former agreements with South Korea, and threatened Korea and America not to interfere with a satellite launch it had planned.

"You butt-munchers stay away from me! Or I'll kill you all! I swear it!" screamed North Korea to the rest of the nations during a recent summit.

North and South Korea are still technically at war (having never signed a peace treaty after the Korean War) and share the world's most heavily fortified border. On May 27, 2009, North Korean media declared that the Korean Armistice is no longer valid due to the South Korean government's pledge to "definitely join" the Proliferation Security Initiative.

To further complicate and intensify strains between the two nations, the sinking of the South Korean warship '_Cheonan'_ in March 2010, killing 46 seamen, is as of May 20, 2010 claimed by a multi-national research team to have been caused by a North Korean torpedo, which the North denies.

South Korea agreed with the findings from the research group and President Lee Myung-bak declared in May 2010 that Seoul would cut all trade with North Korea as part of measures primarily aimed at striking back at North Korea diplomatically and financially. As a result of this, North Korea severed all ties, completely abrogated the previous pact of non aggression and expelled all South Koreans from a joint industrial zone in Kaesong.

* * *

Korea blinked and thought for a moment at what America had just said.

"I see, well, I've been waiting a long time for you to make good on your promise to help me unite my country again. I wish it didn't take the damn sinking of the Cheonan to get you to act faster," replied Korea, with some slight disappointment in his voice.

America frowned a little bit, Korea killing his sudden good mood.

"Oh, well, sorry. Anyway, I'm glad that you have been patient in waiting so long. You see, I've just been so extremely busy with everything going on with Iraq and Afghanistan everything else lately that it's hard for me to plan out what I'm going to do. There's even a lot of important crap going on in my own country right now that I have to deal with, so I just really have a full plate right now, if you know what I mean."

Not meaning to upset him, Korea frowned a little bit as he heard America speak of his many other stressful situations.

"Anyways," continued America, "we will need to be extremely smart about how we go about this whole thing. China is still an ally of the North, and that could prove to be more than simply troublesome."

"Yes," began Korea, "but China only told everyone involved to 'stay calm and exercise restraint,' and besides, he's been growing away from North Korea for a long time now."

America looked at Korea for a moment before looking back down at his notes.

"Maybe so," he replied, "but that doesn't make the situation less complicated. If anything, it just makes it more-so."

Korea simply nodded in agreement, thinking to himself. Suddenly an image of Japan's chest came into his mind, but he quickly resolved to stop thinking about Japan's 'assets' and pay attention to what was going on. America then seemed to stare off for a second, before looking to Korea again.

"You know," began America thoughtfully, "now that I think about it, your relationship with North Korea is in some ways very similar to me and Dixie, during my civil war, way back in the day."

Korea looked at him with confusion.

"Dixie? Who the hell is Dixie?", thought Korea to himself, "What is he going on about?"

"Only in this case the South are the good guys and the North are the bad. But do not worry, because I am a hero, so good will once again triumph over evil oppression! Just like in my civil war!" explained America gleefully, trying to reassure Korea.

Korea continued staring at him, trying to figure him out, but America didn't notice, and instead continued on with his comparisons.

"In fact, North Korea seems to have a very similar personality to Dixie. Dixie regretted who he was, and was a very bitter dude, and I get that kind of vibe from North Korea, too," he finished.

It was then that Korea realized who he was talking about.

"Oh, Dixie was the old Confederacy that you fought against during your civil war, yes?"

"Yea, but the weird thing is that I think he may have been woman... a very boyish looking woman. Why else would he have such a girly name?" answered America enthusiastically, as he thought it was funny.

"Heh, well, I see. It does make sense, I guess... although I've never met Dixie, so I can't speak of what he was like, but I do get the feeling that North Korea dislikes himself, as you said. And the fact that the Confederacy and North Korea share some similarities is just more reason to take North Korea out, once and for all..."

Korea seemed to have an almost dark determination in his voice as he finished, but of-course America, not 'reading the atmosphere,' didn't notice and simply nodded his head in agreement.

* * *

"Damnit, these guys... I can't believe their resolve," thought England to himself as he left the interrogation room.

Stepping out of the room, he shut the door angrily and marched to the recording room to talk with Mr. Sawyers. But when he opened the door to the room, Mr. Sawyers was gone, and the only person in the room was an agent, who was completing a transcript of everything that was said during the interrogations (which wasn't much). The agent looked up at England as he opened the door and stepped in.

"Ah, you probably thought that Mr. Sawyers would be here," remarked the agent.

"Yes, I did. But I suppose something even more urgent than this called for his attention," answered England as he nodded his head, confirming the agent's theory.

"Apparently so," chuckled the agent lightly as he stood up from his chair.

The purposefully dark room shrouded the agent's face slightly, but England definitely recognized his voice, and there was something else about him that seemed very familiar to England. Otherwise he would be having a stand-off of sorts with the man at this moment. The man began to explain himself.

"Anyway, it seems that our prime minister himself, Mr. Cameron, has ordered you to go on a mission of espionage in Russia."

The man walked over to England and handed him an official order to conduct the spying, with both David Cameron's and Mr. Sawyer's signatures on it.

"Don't worry about the recordings and transcripts of your interrogations. I have them both together and ready for reviews."

England nodded slowly and turned to go out of the door. He walked back the short distance to the doorway, and stopped before going out. He was expecting a mission to go spying in Russia, or rather on Russia himself, but not this soon.

"What was your name again, sir?" asked England, emotionless.

"I am agent Timothy Donovin," answered the man casually, "And you are agent Arthur Kirkland. Mr. Sawyer's told me your name when he gave me those orders to give to you."

At this, he handed England his badge to confirm what he said, and sure enough, there was his name and picture. Examining the badge for a few moments, England compared the picture on it to the agent's face. Even though the man's face was partially obscured by the dimness of the room, it seemed to match up, as far as England could tell.

He handed the badge back the agent, and the two men gave each other a nod of assurance. As England walked out of the doorway and started navigating his way through the halls, a small, strange smile slowly crept up on "Timothy's" face.

* * *

"It is decided then, I will continue to with negotiations to join the European Union. As such, I will only try to improve relations with Greece, and not end trade with him..." established Turkey out loud, while speaking with both his president, Abdullah Gül, and his prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Both were sitting down at a small table, playing chest with each other.

Just then, Turkey noticed a laser point on Abdullah's chest. Just as Abdullah was rising from his seat, and before anyone could react, a bullet shot through the nearby window and connected with his stomach.

* * *

_Author's Notes:_ Alright so another new chapter, with more talking. I promise I'll start trying to get some more action in soon, but I need to establish a lot of things first, so I'm doing that in the best way I can. I'm not a 'super-writer' like some people on this site, unfortunately.

I also tried out the "piece of history" thing again, this time it was more towards the middle of the chapter instead of the beginning. I'm still kind of trying it out, so if it seems to jarring or whatever, I want you to let me know!

Quick note: DGSE = French Directorate-General for External Security.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Reviews and constructive criticism are welcome as always! :)


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